This par 5 opening hole is down hill with a slight dog leg right. It is a comfortable opening hole to a magnificently groomed golf course which is probably one of the best kept secrets in the Coachella Valley. How to Play: The opening tee shot should be kept out of the trees on the right side of the fairway. It is best to be down the left side of the fairway as this will open up the fairway for your second shot. The second shot needs be no more than two hundred yards that will keep the lake on the right side of the green out of play. The more daring can risk the green in two. Leave yourself a 100 yard third shot and all flag locations will be accessible. An opening par is a good start to begin your round.
The first of six par threes on the golf course can be tricky as it calls for a mid iron over water early in the round to a large green bunkered on the right side and behind the green. How to Play: Do not panic as the carry over water is really only 145 yards from the silver tees and 170 from the back. Center of the green is always a good shot here and with a solid two putt to walk away with par. For those not comfortable over the water there is a bail out area down the right side of the lake.
Almost straight away off the tee with an ever so slight dog leg right. A good solid driver off the tee will leave a comfortable short iron into a small but tricky green. How to Play: This is the number one handicap hole on the front side which can be deceiving. On a benign day, it will play easier than on the days when the prevailing wind comes out of the west. One must be careful on the windy days as the slightest of slices will end up out of bounds down the right side. Play your second shot to the center of the small green and give yourself a birdie putt.
The shortest of the six par threes should be taken advantage of. But be careful as taking this hole for granted can lead to a bogey or worse. How to Play: A short iron should be all that is needed. It must be straight as bunkers on either side of the green offer protection to this short hole. The green slants slightly from back to front and when putting from the back to front, one must be careful that the putt does not get away from you.
This par four hole is a dog leg right off the tee. The second shot with a short iron needs to find the right level of this two-tiered green and not be above the flag on this slippery green. How to Play: This tee shot has two options. Either hit the big fade between the large eucalyptus trees bordering both the left and the right side of the fairway or take your tee shot, if you can, over the eucalyptus trees on the right. On windy days, the fade may be your best option. Once again a short iron should be all that is left to this two-tiered green. If the flag is on the lower part of the green, one must be sure to hit your second shot on that level. Anything above the flag can lead to an easy bogey with another downhill slippery putt. If the flag is on the upper level, take an extra club to get it back there.
The sixth hole on the front side brings the first dogleg left on the golf course. There is a punitive fairway bunker on the left of the fairway 215 yards off the tee. The green once again is small, sloping fairly steeply, from back to front, with the back part of the green being a small plateau for a great flag location. How to Play: The tee shot is the most demanding to this point. Hit it left and you end up in the punitive fairway bunker. Hit it right and you end up in trees with not much of a shot to the green. A good draw off the tee leaves another short iron to this tricky green. Do not be above the hole no matter where the flag is positioned as it will be a real tester for a two-putt. If the flag is blue and on the small upper tier, it is better to be short of the tier with an easier two-putt, than be over the green with a near impossible up and down for par.
The seventh hole is one of the best on the front side. Even though this slight dogleg right seems quite benign from the teeing ground, if one does not stay focused on the task at hand, a large number can be the result, especially if you are playing into the prevailing wind. How to Play: The tee shot needs to be down the center or favoring the left side of the fairway. Do not let the tee shot getaway and drift into the trees on the right, which makes the second shot even more difficult. Even if one has a play from the right side, make sure to take enough club as the perception is that the yardage to the green seems shorter and can result in your third shot from the right-side bunker. Down the center or to the left side of the fairway opens the green to a second shot. If the prevailing wind is up, hitting the green in regulation can be quite difficult as the ball must be struck solidly with plenty of club. Once on the green, the breaks are more severe to Indio than the naked eye's perception. Once again it is best to be under the hole and never above.
The eighth hole is the third of the six par threes and believe it or not, the easiest of the remaining four par threes. Even though it is listed at 204 yards from the silver tees, it is downhill and plays slightly less with the prevailing wind out of the right. Bunkered on both sides of the green a tee shot to the center is a job well done. The front of the green is actually downhill even though an optical illusion makes it look uphill. How to Play: A good solid long iron or fairway wood is the play recommended at this straight away par three. A tee shot drifting left or right will find one of the two greenside bunkers which will make par a challenging effort. With a flag location on the front, anything short of the green must be thought out carefully as the chip shot will run downhill for the first third of the green even though it looks uphill. The green is challenging in itself as both sides of the green slope severely to the center.
The par-five ninth is a dogleg left that is uphill from tee to green and trees bordering both sides of the fairway that come into play predominantly on the tee shot. The fairway bunker comes into play approximately 215 yards off the tee. The green slopes severely from back to front and is protected by a greenside bunker on the left and a short-sided bunker on the right. How to Play: The tee shot on the ninth sets up this hole for either a birdie or par, or, bogey or worse. One cannot see the green from the teeing ground as a good solid draw off the tee is the recommended play. Anything straight away can lead one into the tree's on the right and not much of chance to reach this green in two, which can be easily done for the big hitters out of the fairway. The third shot to this severely sloping green from back to front must always be below the flag for the best chance at making birdie. Anything above the hole will lead to a delicate, speedy, turning putt for birdie or par that can easily lead to a three-putt bogey.
The tenth hole begins a stretch of three holes that are the most spectacular at Mission Lakes Country Club. These three holes are a must at this country club as it is a test of golf for precision shot-making and nerves of steel. This stretch begins with a par five dog leg right off the tee and then again another dog leg right for the second shot if you wish to make in two. It is like a small canyon chiseled out of the hills. If you come to MLCC to play, be sure to check the large eucalyptus trees on the right and left of the fairway from the tee, and also on the right side of the green, as they have been home to the resident red-tail hawks that have visited us for the last seven years and raise their offspring. The green is two-tiered and once again slopes severely from back to front. Par is a good score here and of course, a birdie is better. How to Play: The tee shot on this par five is not as demanding as the eye tells you. There is more room to the right than is expected and a driver is not necessarily needed. Two, two hundred yard shots leave only a wedge to the green and a solid two-putt gives one a good score of par, which isn't bad. The third shot one must remember is uphill and can be into the prevailing wind so an extra club may and can be necessary. This is one hole that you must NEVER be above the hole, it can just as easily be a three-putt from that position.
The eleventh hole at MLCC is our signature hole at the club and has also been voted one of the top eighteen holes in the Coachella Valley. It is the highest elevation at the country club at about 1,550 feet above sea level and offers spectacular views both to the east and west. During certain times of the seasons, one can find our resident red tail hawks, both parents and their young, riding the thermals directly above. It is also not uncommon for one to see one, two, and even three rainbows directly to the flats in the east during stormy weather. This hole takes the nerves of steel for par or better. How to Play: The tee shot on this hole, that runs parallel to the par-three eighth, is the same club that you used on the eighth. That will land you on the flat of the upper fairway which is about two hundred yards in distance. From the upper fairway, you must cross the ravine with another two hundred yards carry that should land you in the center of the green. For those who do not have those nerves of steel, a small wedge will land you on the lower fairway 75-100 yards from the green. The toughest flag location is when our superintendent, Andy Diaz, puts the blue flag on the top tier on the back of the green which makes a two-putt spectacular.
The twelfth hole is the third of our own little "Amen Corner". This teeing ground once again offers spectacular views of the valley, and also the whole country club of Mission Lakes. From tee to green there is a 150-foot drop and from the black tees, one cannot even see the green. How to Play: yards to the center of the green under normal conditions. From the blue tees, one must pick your line and trust the swing to make par or better. The twelfth is a relatively easy hole with calm winds, but with even a slight breeze, doubt and anxiety can play into club selection.
The thirteenth hole looks relatively easy as it is straight away and all trouble can be seen from the teeing ground. Even though it is a short 384 yards from the silver tees, par can be as elusive as any hole on the golf course. The fairway comes to an end at 90 yards left to the green. From this point forward the wash is with heavy rough. Getting to the green in two, which is protected by three bunkers, right, left, and directly behind, is only half the battle as this green is one of the most difficult to read on the golf course. It does slope slightly from back to front, but the challenge comes in putting from side to side as the break is more than expected. How to Play: Driver is the play from the teeing ground to get as far down the fairway as possible to leave the shortest of irons left to the green. When the flag is in the front, one must be sure to have enough club to reach the green as the severe slope in front will prevent anything from bounding on which makes for a difficult chip. Reading this green for a two-putt is well done.
The fourteenth hole is the easiest on the back nine and must be taken advantage of. It is definitely the most realistic chance for birdie on this difficult nine as the following closing holes are some of the most demanding in the Coachella Valley. Even though it is 506 yards, it does play with the prevailing wind and makes it a short par five. The only protection to the green is two bunkers that protect a back flag and a second or third shot that carries long. The green is relatively easy to read as long as Indio's influence on the putt is kept in mind.
The fifteenth hole is the beginning of the four most difficult and demanding holes at MLCC. Measuring 234 yards from the silver tees and 249 from the black tees, any tee shot on the green is more than acceptable, (very few holes in one at this par three).
This hole commands three good swings to reach the green in regulation, if you can. It can at times play into the wind which only doubles the severity of this golf hole. Not much trouble from tee to green as long as the shots are long and true.
The last of the six par threes can produce a score anywhere from a birdie to a double bogey. If the wind is present, the hole will play shorter than the yardage listed. Keep your tee shot to the left portion of the green and all is well. If your tee shots slides to the right, either in the bunkers or right of them, you bring the double bogey into play.
A superb finishing hole. Anyone who walks away with par or better on this hole will walk away satisfied no matter what the score for his or her round. This demanding hole plays uphill from tee to green and many times directly into the westerly winds. The green has three tiers with the back portion, along with the front, quite small. No matter where the flag, do not be above the hole.